Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (Rosicrucian Society of England) or SRIA is a

Rosicrucian Rosicrucianism () is a spirituality, spiritual and cultural movement that arose in early modern Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts announcing to the world a new Western esotericism, esoteric order. Rosicruc ...

esoteric Christian order formed by

Robert Wentworth Little Robert Wentworth Little (1840 – April 11, 1878) was a clerk and cashier
at the Grand Lodge of Bri ...

between 1865King 1989, page 28 and 1867. While the SRIA is not a

Masonic Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

order (unattached to any Grand Lodge structure or

Masonic Rite A Rite, within the context of Freemasonry, refers to a comprehensive system of degrees that hold the capability to initiate and advance a newcomer through various stages of Masonic knowledge and experience. In some cases, a Master Mason can be i ...

), aspirants (people seeking membership) are strictly confirmed from the ranks of subscribing

Master Mason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

s of a

Grand Lodge A Grand Lodge, also called Grand Orient, Obedience, or by another similar title, is a name for the overarching governing body of a fraternal or other similarly organized group in a given area, usually a city, state, or country. In Freemasonry A ...

in amity with

United Grand Lodge of England The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales, and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic Grand Lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron ...

. The structure and grade of this order, as A. E. Waite suggests, were derived from the 18th-century German

Order of the Golden and Rosy Cross The Order of the Golden and Rosy Cross (Orden des Gold- und Rosenkreutz, also the ''Fraternity of the Golden and Rosy Cross''), was a German Rosicrucian organization founded in the 1750s by Freemason and alchemist Hermann Fictuld. Candidates were ...

. It later became the same grade system used for the

Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (), more commonly the Golden Dawn (), was a secret society devoted to the study and practice of occult Hermeticism and metaphysics during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Known as a magical order, ...

. The Fratres (singular. Frater) of the Society meet in Colleges, which are presided over by an annually elected Celebrant who also oversees all First Order ceremonial. Chief Adepts are responsible for all Colleges within their Province, they personally oversee all Second Order ceremonial activities and are appointed by The Supreme Magus who governs the Society worldwide via his High Council and oversees Third Order ceremonial. SRIA Colleges can be found in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

The Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. In addition to the ceremonial work within colleges, each Frater is encouraged to research, present, and discuss, papers covering a range of topics, including but not limited to

Symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...

Alchemy Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...

Artificial Intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Esotericism Esotericism may refer to: * Eastern esotericism, a broad range of religious beliefs and practices originating from the Eastern world, characterized by esoteric, secretive, or occult elements * Western esotericism, a wide range of loosely related id ...

Spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...

, and

Mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute (philosophy), Absolute, but may refer to any kind of Religious ecstasy, ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or Spirituality, spiritual meani ...

. The society has a rare collection of 400 year old Rosicrucian books, letters and manuscripts, which are on loan to the Library and Museum of Freemasonry in Freemasons Hall, home of the

History

The society is inspired by the original

Brotherhood but does not openly claim a provable link thereto. It bases its teachings on those found in the '' Fama'' and ''

Confessio Fraternitatis The ''Confessio Fraternitatis'' (''Confessio oder Bekenntnis der Societät und Bruderschaft Rosenkreuz''), or simply ''The Confessio'', printed in Kassel (Germany) in 1615, is the second anonymous manifestos, of a trio of Rosicrucian pamphlets, ...

'' published in the early 17th century in Germany, along with other similar publications from the same time such as the

Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz The ''Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz'' () is a German book edited in 1616 in Strasbourg. Its anonymous authorship is attributed to Johann Valentin Andreae. The ''Chymical Wedding'' is often described as the third of the original man ...

. The society was founded in 1867, derived from a pre-existing Rosicrucian 'non-Masonic' order in Scotland (which bore no relation to the similarly named ''Societas Rosicruciana in Scotia'', which was a later creation), following the admission of William James Hughan and

Robert Wentworth Little Robert Wentworth Little (1840 – April 11, 1878) was a clerk and cashier
at the Grand Lodge of Bri ...

. Little was a clerk and cashier of the General Secretary of the

William Henry White Sir William Henry White, (2 February 1845 – 27 February 1913) was a prolific British warship designer and Chief Constructor at the Admiralty. Biography White was born in Devonport, the son of Robert White, a currier, and his wife, Jane ...

. These Fratres were advanced quickly in Scotland and granted a warrant to form a Society in England. The formation meeting took place on 1 June 1867 in Aldermanbury, London with Frater Little elected Master Magus, the title of "Supreme Magus" not being invented until some years later.

The organisation was initially named the Rosicrucian Society of England or the Brethren of the Rosy Cross, these names are still used interchangeably to this day. However, the former name was Latinised to Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (or SRIA), and has been commonly used throughout the society since 1889. They produced a journal, called ''The Rosicrucian'', which was co-edited by William Robert Woodman. The national headquarters of the Society was Stanfield Hall in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, until 2022 when the society relocated its Library to the Museum of Freemasonry, and its Headquarters to Harlthorpe Hall in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

Membership requirements

Structure of Masonic appendant bodies in England and Wales

The society requires that all aspirants for membership apply from the ranks of subscribing

s of a

in amity with

to declare a belief in the fundamental principles of the

Trinitarian The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three ...

Christian faith and offers assistance to all its members in working out the great problems of nature and science.

Structure and governance

The Society is subdivided into three Orders:

1st Order

Members of the 1st Order(''Fratres'') meet in a College. A College is empowered to confer the first four degrees of the society which are known as Grades. A minimum of six months must elapse between the receipt of grades. However, the emphasis in the work of the society is learning, therefore every member is encouraged to deliver a paper of their own work on some topic of interest in open college.

2nd Order

The Second Order is managed at a provincial level, headed by a Chief Adept and his deputy (Suffragan) who have jurisdiction over all first order Colleges within a Province. The Chief Adept is empowered to personally confer three further Grades at this level to deserving ''Fratres'' of Grade IV who have been a member of the Society for a minimum of four years. A minimum of one year must elapse between the receipt of grades at this level. A member can only serve as the Celebrant (Master) of a College of the First Order after receiving the Grade of Adeptus Exemptus.

3rd Order

The Third Order is headed by the Supreme Magus, Senior Substitute Magus, and Junior Substitute Magus. Members of the second order who have given service to the Society and have been selected by the Supreme Magus for such advancement may be awarded these two further Grades. Acting recipients receive Grade VIII or Grade IX, however, the Supreme Magus can also grant the grades honorifically (8° & 9°). All recipients receive the full ceremony, which is personally overseen by the Supreme Magus and his team.

Regalia

Fraters within the First Order wear a jewel (medal) hanging on a green ribbon, the ribbon changes to yellow for Fraters within the Second Order. When a frater becomes a Celebrant he wears a red robe, and thereafter he continues to wear a red robe. Certain officers within a College wear regalia specific to their office.

Supreme Magus

There have been 14 Supreme Magi since the founding of the SRIA:

Known members

* William Robert Woodman *

William Wynn Westcott William Wynn Westcott (17 December 1848 – 30 July 1925) was a British coroner, ceremonial magician, theosophist and Freemason born in Leamington, Warwickshire, England. He was a Supreme Magus (chief) of the S.R.I.A. and went on to co- ...

* Kenneth R. H. Mackenzie * Samuel Liddell "MacGregor" Mathers *

Arthur Edward Waite Arthur Edward Waite (2 October 1857 – 19 May 1942) was a British poet and scholarly Mysticism, mystic who wrote extensively on occult and Western esotericism, esoteric matters, and was the co-creator of the Rider–Waite Tarot (also called th ...

John Yarker John Yarker (17 April 1833 – 20 March 1913) was an England, English List of Freemasons, Freemason, author, and occultist. He was born in Swindale, Shap, Westmorland, in the north of England. He moved with his parents to Lancashire and on to ...

Robert Felkin Robert William Felkin FRSE LRCSE LRCP (13 March 1853 – 28 December 1926) was a British medical missionary and explorer, a ceremonial magician, member of the S.R.I.A, member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a prolific author on Ugand ...

Frederick Bligh Bond Frederick Bligh Bond (30 June 1864 – 8 March 1945), was an English architect, illustrator, archaeologist, Parapsychology, psychical researcher and member of the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia. Early life Bligh Bond was the son of the Rev. Fre ...

SRIA Colleges

* Bishop Wilkins College *

Mersey The River Mersey () is a major river in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it ...

College *

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

College *

John Dee John Dee (13 July 1527 – 1608 or 1609) was an English mathematician, astronomer, teacher, astrologer, occultist, and alchemist. He was the court astronomer for, and advisor to, Elizabeth I, and spent much of his time on alchemy, divination, ...

College * Woodman College ( Halifax) *Thomas B Whytehead College (

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield district, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the t ...

) *

St John of Beverley John of Beverley (died 7 May 721) was an English bishop active in the kingdom of Northumbria. He was the bishop of Hexham and then the bishop of York, which was the most important religious designation in the area. He went on to found the town ...

College ( Beverly) *

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

College *

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

College *

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

College *

Pythagoras Pythagoras of Samos (; BC) was an ancient Ionian Greek philosopher, polymath, and the eponymous founder of Pythagoreanism. His political and religious teachings were well known in Magna Graecia and influenced the philosophies of P ...

College

Other organisations

There are multiple orders and societies that are associated with or inspired by the SRIA.

Societas Rosicruciana

The ''Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia'' has led to several

Societas Rosicruciana The Societas Rosicruciana (or Rosicrucian Society) is a Rosicrucian order which limits its membership to Christian Master Masons. The order was founded in Scotland, but now exists in Scotland, England, Canada, Portugal, and the United States. Wh ...

organisations in different countries such as Scotland (

SRIS A serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) is a type of drug which acts as a reuptake inhibitor of the neurotransmitter serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, or 5-HT) by blocking the action of the serotonin transporter (SERT). This in turn leads to increas ...

), Portugal (SRIL), and The Americas ( SRICF).

Royal Order of Eri

An invitational Irish order requiring membership of both

Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

and the SRIA. Members must be 5th grade or above in SRIA to be considered for invitation. The Masonic order is derived from an ancient Order in Ireland which was founded by the historic Kings of Ireland. The order's name relates to ''Erin'' the ancient Irish name for

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. In Canada and the United States, this order forms part of the

Allied Masonic Degrees The Allied Masonic Degrees (AMD) are a series of Masonic degrees conferred by ''Councils of the Allied Masonic Degrees''. The Allied Masonic Degrees form an appendant order of Freemasonry that exists in some Masonic jurisdictions; its degrees are ...

, but remains invite only.

Golden Dawn

In 1888, three members of SRIA formed the

, which removed the restriction on membership, allowing non-Christians, non-Freemasons, and women to join. A great deal of the SRIA structure survived in the new order, which went on to greatly influence the modern occult revival in the 20th century. While SRIA inspired several aspects, there is no active link between the SRIA and any modern-day Golden Dawn organisation.

References

External links

Official SRIA websites

Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia
- Official Website.
The SRIA Province of Greater London & Metropolitan Study Group
- The official website for SRIA in

.
Rosicrucian Society of Freemasons in Victoria
- The official website for SRIA in

Victoria, Australia Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of ; the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 7 million; ...

.
North West SRIA
- The official website for the SRIA Province of North West Counties (England).
Western Counties & North Wales SRIA
- The official website for the SRIA Province of Western Counties & North Wales.
Province of the South Western Counties SRIA
- The official website for the SRIA Province of South Western Counties (England).
Bishop Wilkins SRIA College
- An SRIA college with papers, Rosicrucian texts and information about the Society.

Third-party websites

All About John Yarker
- includes two talks written by John Yarker for the SRIA in 1875 and 1879.

- an online course of introduction to the principles of the SRIA. {{DEFAULTSORT:Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia Hermeticism Masonic organizations Rosicrucianism Alchemical traditions Esoteric Christianity Christian mysticism Rosicrucian organizations Fraternal orders Freemasonry in the United Kingdom Freemasonry in England fr:Rose-Croix#La Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia